Levels of Questions in Bloom's TaxonomyThe goal of classroom questioning is not to determine whether students have learned something (as would be the case in tests, quizzes, and exams), but rather to guide students to help them learn necessary information and material. Questions should be used to teach students rather than to just test students!

Teachers frequently spend a great deal of classroom time testing students through questions. In fact, observations of teachers at all levels of education reveal that most spend more than 90 percent of their instructional time testing students (through questioning). And most of the questions teachers ask are typically factual questions that rely on short-term memory.

Taxonomy is an orderly classification of items according to a systematic relationship (low to high, small to big, simple to complex).

Although questions are widely used and serve many functions, teachers tend to overuse factual questions such as “What is the capital of Canada?” Not surprising, many teachers ask upward of 400 questions each and every school day. And approximately 80 percent of all the questions teachers ask tend to be factual, literal, or knowledge-based questions. The result is a classroom in which there is little creative thinking taking place.

It's been my experience that one all-important factor is key in the successful classroom: students tend to read and think based on the kinds of questions they anticipate receiving from the teacher. If students are constantly bombarded with questions that require only low levels of intellectual involvement (or no involvement whatsoever), they will tend to think accordingly. Conversely, students who are given questions based on higher levels of thinking will tend to think more creatively and divergently.

In 1956, an educator named Benjamin Bloom developed a classification system we now refer to as Bloom's Taxonomy to assist teachers in recognizing their various levels of question-asking (among other things). The system contained six levels, which are arranged in hierarchical form, moving from the lowest level of cognition (thinking) to the highest level of cognition (or from the least complex to the most complex). (Bloom revised the taxonomy in 2001, and this is the version we are using here.)

Observations of both elementary and secondary classrooms has shown that teachers significantly overuse knowledge questions. In fact, during the course of an average day, many teachers will ask upward of 300 or more knowledge-based questions.

1. Remembering (Knowledge - lowest level)

2. Understanding

3. Applying

4. Analyzing

5. Evaluating

6. Creating (highest level)

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Levels of Questions in Bloom's Taxonomy

1. Remembering (lowest level)

Remembering (formerly Knowledge) is the lowest level of questions and requires students to recall information. Remembering questions usually require students to identify information in basically the same form it was presented. Some examples of knowledge questions include …

% “What is the biggest city in Saskatchewan?”

% “Who composed the Moonlight Sonata?”

% “How many metres in a kilometre?”

Words often used in remembering questions include know, who, define, what, name, where, list, and when.

2. Understanding

Simply stated, understanding (formerly called comprehension) is the way in which ideas are organized into categories. Understanding questions are those that ask students to take several bits of information and put them into a single category or grouping. These questions go beyond simple recall and require students to combine data together. Some examples of understanding questions include …

% “How would you illustrate the water cycle?”

% “What is the main idea of this story?”

% “If I put these three blocks together, what shape do they form?”

Words often used in comprehension questions include describe, use your own words, outline, explain, discuss, and compare.

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Levels of Questions in Bloom's Taxonomy3. Applying

At this level, teachers ask students to take information they already know and apply it to a new situation. In other words, they must use their knowledge to determine a correct response. Some examples of application questions include …

% “How would you use your knowledge of latitude and longitude to locate Greenland?”

% “What happens when you multiply each of these numbers by nine?”

% “If you had eight inches of water in your basement and a hose, how would you use the hose to get the water out?”

Words often used in application questions include apply, manipulate, put to use, employ, dramatize, demonstrate, interpret, and choose.

4. Analyzing

An analysis question is one that asks a student to break down something into its component parts. To analyze requires students to identify reasons, causes, or motives and reach conclusions or generalizations. Some examples of analysis questions include …

% “What are some of the factors that cause rust?”

% “Why does Canada have two official languages?”

% “Why do we call all these animals mammals?”

Words often used in analysis questions include analyze, why, take apart, diagram, draw conclusions, simplify, distinguish, and survey.

Tip:In analysis, you move from the whole to the parts. In Creating, you move from the parts to the whole.

5. Evaluating

Evaluating requires an individual to make a judgment about something. We are asked to judge the value of an idea, a candidate, a work of art, or a solution to a problem. When students are engaged in decision-making and problem-solving, they should be thinking at this level. Evaluation questions do not have single right answers. Some examples of evaluation questions include …

% “What do you think about your work so far?”

% “What story did you like the best?”

% “Do you think that the pioneers did the right thing?”

% “Why do you think Alexander Graham Bell is so famous?”

Words often used in evaluation questions include judge, rate, assess, evaluate, What is the best…, value, criticize, and compare.

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Levels of Questions in Bloom's Taxonomy6. Creating

Questions at the creating level challenge students to engage in creative and original thinking. These questions invite students to produce original ideas and solve problems. There's always a variety of potential responses to synthesis questions. Some examples of creating questions include …

% “How would you assemble these items to create a windmill?”

% “How would your life be different if you could breathe under water?”

% “Construct a tower one foot tall using only four blocks.”

% “Put these words together to form a complete sentence.”

Words often used in creating questions include compose, construct, design, revise, create, formulate, produce, and plan.

It's ElementaryMany teachers think primary-level students (kindergarten through grade 2) cannot “handle” higher-level thinking questions (applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating). Nothing could be further from the truth! Challenging all students through higher-order questioning is one of the best ways to stimulate learning and enhance brain development—regardless of age.

What does all this mean? Several things, actually! It means you can ask your students several different kinds of questions. If you only focus on one type of question, your students might not be exposed to higher levels of thinking necessary to a complete understanding of a topic. If, for example, you only ask students knowledge-based questions, then your students might think that learning (a specific topic) is nothing more than the ability to memorize a select number of facts.

You can use this taxonomy to help craft a wide range of questions—from low-level thinking questions to high-level thinking questions. If variety is the spice of life, you should sprinkle a variety of question types throughout every lesson, regardless of the topic or the grade level you teach.

Bloom's Taxonomy is not grade-specific. That is, it does not begin at the lower grades (kindergarten, first, second) with knowledge and comprehension questions and move upward to the higher grades (tenth, eleventh, twelfth) with synthesis and evaluation questions. The six levels of questions are appropriate for all grade levels.

Perhaps most important, students tend to read and think based on the types of questions they anticipate receiving from the teacher. In other words, students will tend to approach any subject as a knowledge-based subject if they are presented with an overabundance of knowledge-level questions throughout a lesson. On the other hand, students will tend to approach a topic at higher levels of thinking if they are presented with an abundance of questions at higher levels of thinking.

Expert OpinionNever end a presentation by asking, “Are there any questions?” This is the surest way to turn off students. Instead, say something like, “Take five minutes and write down two questions you have about the lesson. Share those questions and discuss possible answers with a partner.”

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Levels of Questions in Bloom's Taxonomy

Level 1. Remembering (knowledge level) When was this picture taken? Where was this picture taken?Question cues: List, define, tell, label

Level 2. UnderstandingWhat is happening in this picture?Why are these boys dressed like this?Question cues: Describe, name, identify, discuss

Level 3. ApplyingHow would you describe the photograph to others?What caption would you write for this photograph (say, in a newspaper)?Question cues: Modify, solve, change, explain

Level 4. AnalyzingWhy are these boys here and not in school?What do you know about their lives based on this photo?Question cues: Analyze, separate, compare, contrast

Level 5. EvaluatingWhat is the significance of this photo for the time period depicted?Compare this photo with one of three boys from today of the same age (see picture below). How are their lives similar? How are they different?Question cues: Give opinion, criticize, discriminate, summarize

Level 6. CreatingWhat might these boys say about their work in an interview setting?What might they say about their future?Question cues: Create, construct, plan, role-play

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Levels of Questions in Bloom's Taxonomy

Photo CreditsThe photograph "Coal Breaker Boys" was taken in Kingston, Pennsylvania, between 1890 and 1910. It is available in the American Memory Collection Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920, from the Library of Congress.

Classroom questioning

Thinking/Learning Type of QuestionRemembering/Comprehension What happened when…?

What are the main points…?Why did…?

Applying Think of alternative word…Can you use the word in a different context…?Can you think of another example that shows…?Does the same idea apply to…?

Analyzing What effect is achieved by…?Why do you think the author chose to…?Does this fit in with a pattern…?

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Levels of Questions in Bloom's Taxonomy

Why do you agree/disagree with…?What is suggested…How…?

Evaluating What do you think of…?Which is the most effective…?Do you think this works well…?What are the weakest/strongest aspects of…?

Creating Where else can you see this…?Create your own version of…Change the features/audience etcRewrite the ending of this story…

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Levels of Questions in Bloom's TaxonomyLet's take Goldilocks and the 3 Bears to apply Bloom's taxonomy to.

1. RememberingWho was the biggest bear? What food was too hot?

2. UnderstandingWhy didn't the bears eat the porridge?Why did the bears leave their house?

3. ApplyingList the sequence of events in the story.Draw 3 pictures showing the beginning, middle and ending of the story.

4. AnalyzingWhy do you think Goldilocks went for a sleep?How would you feel if you were Baby Bear?What kind of person do you think Goldilocks is and why?

5. EvaluatingWrite a review for the story and specify the type of audience that would enjoy this book.Why has this story been told over and over again throughout the years?Act out a mock court case as though the bears are taking Goldilocks to court.

6. CreatingHow could you re-write this story with a city setting?Write a set of rules to prevent what happened in the story.

Bloom's taxonomy helps you to ask questions that make learners think. Always remember that higher level thinking occurs with higher level questioning. Here are the types of activities to support each of the categories in Bloom's Taxonomy:

1. RememberingLabelListNameStateOutlineDefineLocateRepeatIdentifyRecite

2. UnderstandingDiscussExplainProvide proof ofProvide an outlineDiagramMake a posterMake a collageMake a cartoon stripAnswer who, what, when, where, why questions

3. ApplyingReportConstructSolveIllustrateConstructDesign

4. AnalyzingSortAnalyzeInvestigateClassifySurveyDebateGraphCompare

5. EvaluatingSolveJustifySelf evaluateConcludeDo an editorialWeight the pros/consMock trialGroup discussionJustifyJudgeCriticizeAppraiseJudgeRecommendation backed with informed opinionsWhy do you think…

6. CreatingInventExamineDesignFormulateHypothesizeRe-tell differentlyReportDevelop a gameSongExperimentGenerateCompose

The more you move toward higher level questioning techniques, the easier it gets. Remind yourself to ask open ended questions, ask questions that stimulate 'why do you think' type answers. The goal is to get them thinking, what color of hat was he wearing is a low level thinking question, why do you think he wore that color is better. Always look to questioning and activities that make learners think. Bloom's taxonomy provides an excellent framework to help with this.

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